KALAMAZOO VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE COURSE ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE LEN 101 INTRODUCTION TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE Instructor: Nicholas Meier, J.D. Office: 7353 Phone: 488-4295 e-mail: nmeier@kvcc.edu Office Hours: I will usually be in the classroom 15 minutes prior to each class for any questions you may have. Other hours by appointment. I am available many more hours that those posted. Please do not hesitate to give me a call or see me before or after class to arrange an alternate time if my regular hours are not convenient for you. Catalog Description: This course is an introduction to the history, philosophy, concepts, and problems of law enforcement. A survey is made of the various fields of law enforcement and corrections, and professional career opportunities are reviewed. Additional Course Description: This course is designed to introduce the student to the Criminal Justice System as a whole and its major components. The course will provide you, the future criminal justice professional, with the foundations and knowledge necessary to pursue a career in law enforcement, the courts, or corrections. The course serves as the basis for professional study in other specialized criminal justice courses. Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to list the significant requirements (health, physical, legal, education, etc.) for an entry level position in a criminal justice agency. describe the local, regional and national employment opportunities in criminal justice. describe the attire for criminal justice personnel including personal grooming, required health and safety equipment, uniforms etc. define criminal justice (Chapter 1) describe the goals of the criminal justice system (Chapter 1) define federalism and explain the structure, organization, and jurisdiction of national and state criminal justice systems (Chapter 1) define a system and its specific characteristics such as discretion, resource dependence, sequential tasks, and filtering (Chapter 1) define a holon and its relationship to a system (Chapter 1) name the thirteen steps in the criminal justice decision making process (Chapter 1) describe the criminal justice wedding cake (Chapter 1) compare and contrast Packer's crime control and due process models of the criminal justice system (Chapter 1)
define disparity and discrimination and how they impact the criminal justice system (Chapter 1) define the terms crime, mala in se, mala prohibita, felony, and misdemeanor (Chapter 2) describe what is meant by occupational, organized, visible, victimless, political, and cyber crime (Chapter 2) differentiate between criminal and civil law (Chapter 3) define substantive and procedural criminal law (Chapter 3) explain the various defenses available to the criminal defendant (Chapter 3) explain the guarantees and protections in the 1 st, 4 th, 5 th, 6 th, 8 th, and 14 th Amendments to the United States Constitution (Chapter 3) define the term incorporation and describe the three phases of the incorporation of the Bill of Rights on the states (Chapter 3) explain the English origins from which American police eventually developed, including the reforms of Robert Peele (Chapter 4) define and explain the characteristics of the Political, Professional (Scientific), and Community Models of American policing (Chapter 4) describe the organization of police agencies at the federal, state, county, local, and Native American levels (Chapter 4) identify the styles of policing (Chapter 4) identify and describe the functions of policing (Chapter 4) explain the bureaucratic characteristics of a police agency (Chapter 4) identify the various operational units of a police agency (Chapter 4) discuss the role of discretion in law enforcement (Chapter 4) describe how law enforcement officers are recruited, trained, and socialized (Chapter 5) understand how minorities and women have been integrated into law enforcement (Chapter 5) discuss the police subculture, working personality, and the elements of danger and authority (Chapter 5) describe the functions of patrol (Chapter 5) describe the functions of investigation and other specialized units (Chapter 5) describe the role of technology in law enforcement (Chapter 5) describe the various types of patrol strategies and activities (Chapter 5) define brutality, violence, and corruption (Chapter 6) describe the Use of Force Continuum, its levels, and how it assists the officer in making a use of force decision (Chapter 6) describe the impact the holdings in Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor had on police use of force (Chapter 6) identify the sources of corruption (Chapter 6) use the Ethics Checklist to solve an ethical dilemma (Chapter 6) differentiate between a grass eater and a meat eater (Chapter 6) identify the types of police corruption (Chapter 6) describe how police are held accountable for their actions, including internal and external controls (Chapter 6) describe how new technology has impacted policing (Chapter 6) discuss the impact the Department of Homeland Security has had on policing (Chapter 6) discuss the issues and problems posed by the increase in private policing (Chapter 6) describe the role and responsibility of police officers in controlling crime under the rule of law (Chapter 7)
list the investigative and arrest powers of the police (Chapter 7) identify and define the level of proof required to make an investigatory stop, an arrest, to win in a civil case, and to win in a criminal case (Chapter 7) list the exceptions to the search warrant requirement (Chapter 7) define arrest and why an officer can search subsequent to an arrest (Chapter 7) explain the circumstances under which a suspect must be given an advice of rights (Chapter 7) identify some common exceptions to the Miranda Rule (Chapter 7) define the exclusionary rule (Chapter 7) define the inevitable discovery rule (Chapter 7) determine jurisdiction given a hypothetical criminal scenario (Chapter 8) describe the hierarchy of the state and federal courts and their functions (Chapter 8) describe the function and role of the judge and the process of judicial selection (Chapter 8) describe the role of the prosecutor, including prosecutorial decision-making and discretion (Chapter 8) describe the role of the defense attorney and how defense counsel is appointed for indigent defendants (Chapter 8) define what is meant by the terms local legal culture and courtroom work group (Chapter 8) describe the purpose of bail, the role of bail bond agents, and the consequences of being detained (Chapter 9) identify the alternatives to the use of bail bond agents (Chapter 9) define preventive detention and the bases for the preventive detention decision (Chapter 9) identify and describe the states of the criminal trial (Chapter 9) discuss the functions of the jury and the selection of jurors (Chapter 9) describe the appellate process (Chapter 9) describe the philosophical basis for criminal punishment (Chapter 10) describe the goals and weaknesses of retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and restorative justice (Chapter 10) describe the nature and extent of incarceration, intermediate sanctions, probation, and death (Chapter 10) discuss the Constitutional and policy implications concerning capital punishment (Chapter 10) discuss the purpose of sentencing guidelines (Chapter 10) discuss the history of corrections from the development of the penitentiary to reformatories to the rise and fall of rehabilitation (Chapter 11) discuss the nature of prisons by classification (Chapter 11) identify the nature of women s and private prisons (Chapter 11) describe the Constitutional rights afforded prisoners, probationers, and parolees (Chapter 11) list the assumptions underlying community corrections (Chapter 11) discuss the evolution of probations, its services, and the process of probation revocation (Chapter 12) explain the intermediate sanctions available, including fines, restitution, forfeiture, home confinement, community service, intensive probation, and boot camps (Chapter 12) define the modes of incarceration (Chapter 13) explain the goals of incarceration, including the custodial model, rehabilitation model, and reintegration model (Chapter 13) describe and management and organization of prisons (Chapter 13) define the role of the correctional officer (Chapter 13)
list the special populations within a prison and describe the problems unique to each (Chapter 13) describe prison society, including adaptive roles, the inmate code, and the prison economy (Chapter 13) compare and contrast men s and women s prisons (Chapter 13) describe prison classification and programs (Chapter 13) discuss violence in prison (Chapter 13) describe the origins and development of parole in the United States (Chapter 14) describe the parole decision process (Chapter 14) discuss the problems facing parolees (Chapter 14) discuss the community resources available to parolees (Chapter 14) discuss the role of the parole officer (Chapter 14) describe how parole is revoked (Chapter 14) Required Texts: Cole, George F., and Christopher E. Smith, Criminal Justice in America, 5th Edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2008. Highly Recommended Text: DeJong, Christina, Study Guide for Cole/Smith's Criminal Justice in America, 5th Edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2008. Supplemental Materials: Handouts and additional reading assignments will be provided as needed. Testing-Grading : Examinations 100% 90-100 4.0 70-75 2.0 85-89 3.5 65-69 1.5 80-84 3.0 60-64 1.0 75-79 2.5 Other 0.0 Examinations: Will be on the material presented in the text, lectures, videos, and handouts. When preparing for an examination, special attention should be paid to the learning objectives in this course outline, questions for inquiry at the beginning of the chapters, key terms and headings highlighted in the text, the checkpoints found throughout each chapter, and the chapter summary. In addition, the Study Guide and textbook web page will provide you with learning objectives, chapter summaries and outlines, and practice examination questions.
Missed Examinations: Missed examinations can be taken in the Testing Center. Missed examinations must be taken according to the following schedule: Day Exam Administered Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Take in Testing Center On or Before Thursday Saturday Monday Tuesday If you fail to make up the exam in time you will be given a 0 for that exam. However, if you miss the exam because of circumstances beyond your control that are not excused absences as defined in the KVCC Student Handbook, you may request an Incomplete ( I ) for the course at the end of the semester. If you meet the College s requirements for an Incomplete, you may return next semester and take the exam when it is scheduled again. Last Examination: The last examination is given on the last day of class. If you miss the last examination, you will be given a 0 for that examination. If you know in advance that you will not be available for the last exam, you may request an Incomplete ( I ) if you meet the College s requirements. Then, you can return next semester to make up the exam when it is scheduled again. Student Presentations: Students who wish to present relevant material to the class may do so with my prior consent. Students who give presentations will be given extra credit based on the quality and content of the presentation. Proposals for any extra credit work must be made and approved prior to mid-term. My Home Page: I have a home page. Visit it at http://puma.kvcc.edu/nmeier/ where you will find all the materials for this course as well as other links of interest. Textbook s Web Page: There is a page on the World Wide Web devoted to our text. Go to my web page, click on LEN 101 and then click on Your Textbook s Home Page. You will be provided with lots of information directly related to our text, including practice quizzes and examinations. Also, there are numerous other web pages directly related to criminal justice. Food: No food or snacks will be allowed in the classroom because they are a distraction. Punctuality: Students who arrive late have a negative impact on the flow of the class. In addition, College policy requires that classroom doors be locked during class. If class has already started, please wait outside the classroom. When there is a break in the material, I will let you know and you may come in. Responsibility of the Pre-professional : You are entering the "preapplication" phase of the police officer/criminal justice selection process. It is most important that you conduct your personal and academic life in a manner which is consistent with the criminal justice profession. Some time in the future, you will be subjected to a background investigation by a criminal justice agency. Any conduct deemed deviant (whether or not it is brought to the attention of a law
enforcement agency) may preclude your career in criminal justice. If you have a criminal record, you should talk to me in order to be counseled regarding possible employment limitations. In addition, a lengthy traffic record should be brought to my attention. Legal Disclaimer: Legal topics covered in this class are broad and based on general principles of law. Michigan Law or local ordinances may be different or conflict with some of the legal concepts discussed in class. Therefore, you must not rely on any topics covered or discussions in class as legal advice. If you have a personal legal issue, contact an attorney in your jurisdiction for advice. Reservation: I will reserve the right to modify the topic outline as the needs of the class change or I deem appropriate.